


colours of a constellation

by awkwardedgeworth



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Otabek-centric, ft. Otabek's group of mischievous friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-18 22:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11300607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardedgeworth/pseuds/awkwardedgeworth
Summary: "Hi, I'm Otabek."The blond looks up at him, wide childlike eyes narrowed, "...I'm Yuri."wherein otabek plucks up the courage to say hi to yuri five years ago, yuri uses crutches as weapons, jj pines after seung-gil, and otabek suffers as his friends and family try to meddle in his (very boring) love life





	colours of a constellation

**Author's Note:**

> in this AU, otabek returns to almaty after winning bronze in worlds
> 
> self beta'd
> 
> Edit Aug 13/17: some minor grammatical errors

Otabek is not a chicken.

"Hi."

He approaches the boy, his fingers fiddling with each other as the boy looks up sharply.

Green eyes.

"I'm Otabek," He continues, standing tall as everyone in the novice class stares at him, a few still doing cool down stretches near the barre. The boy is sitting on the floor away from most of their classmates, surrounded by a circle of water bottles and shoes instead.

"Yuri," The blond states, still looking at him with suspicion and confusion in his eyes. They look green-blue upon further examination. "Do you need anything?"

Otabek starts to shake his head, adamant on letting Yuri know that he isn't here to pester him about how to achieve a better form or the secret to an effortless arabesque— that he already knows: practice. He's already seen a number of people try to befriend Yuri, most of them jealous for his talent. 

"I just—"

"If you don't need anything then I need to go," Yuri heaves his bag over one shoulder and steps away from Otabek.

A few girls in the corner giggle at his abrupt failure to befriend Yuri. Otabek blinks before running towards the windows and seeing Yuri's blond hair walk amongst the evening crowd, quickly disappearing as he turns a corner.

"Give it up, he doesn't want to be friends," One girl laughs. Her hair flows loosely around her shoulders since  Madam Baranovskaya have ended lessons for the day. Otabek shares the relaxed slope of her shoulders by the form of his neck, dry now that Lilia isn't criticizing his every move.

Otabek makes quick work of fetching his water bottle from the side of the room and slipping his feet into his sneakers, exiting the barre room. He digs out his phone, ready to call Coach when he spots him at the foyer.

"Otabek!" He gets smothered in a fluffy towel as Denis crouches and hands him an orange. "How's class?"

They both don't mention the demotion Otabek previously took yesterday where Lilia pulled him aside and switched him to her younger class.

"It was alright," He shrugs, sucking the juice from his fingers and letting Denis fuss over his seat belt. 

"Yeah? Did you make new friends?"

Coach Denis tries to keep it casual, but Otabek hears the apprehension in his voice, worried that Otabek wouldn't make any friends on his first summer camp. He wasn't the only one to express his concerns. His mother and sisters (all three of them) had texted him throughout the day, asking for details in the most casual way possible.

For their sake, Otabek responds with, "I talked to some people."

"Really?" Coach Denis brightens as he steers them back to the dorms they're renting with the other skaters. "That's good! Really good!"

Otabek responds with a small smile, the edges twitching as the guilt inside him festers.

 

He knows exactly why the state urged Denis to send him to Yakov's summer camp.

"Good!" Yakov barks as Otabek and another boy finish side by side double loops. The boy preens under the praise but Otabek tries to recall what made his last jump good. He didn't over rotate for once.

"Keep it up, Altin," Yakov skates past him when the first on ice session of the morning finishes. A few of his classmates shoot him curious looks, and he stares at the ice, a small smile on his face.

Which was wiped off as Lilia's voice continues to drill him through exercises, her harsh consonants chipping away at him like an ice pick to a glacier.

Otabek looks to the side at the assistant instructor, all smiles as she praises Yuri.

He stifles a groan when Lilia takes it upon herself to force his foot in the right position, his muscles screaming. He wants to scream too.

"Fix your cambré!" Lilia snaps to his neighbour. Her beady eyes look over his form again before giving him a sharp nod.

As soon as she walks away to terrorize some other students, Otabek's main foot cramps and he pops out of the position.

He accidentally meets Lilia's eyes and she sends him to stand outside in the hallway.

When camp wraps up, Yakov sends them to a bowling alley for a job well done. Otabek, as soon as Coach Denis is dragged away to help order pizza with the other coaches, sneaks away to the arcade section.

He falters when he sees Yuri there, curiously looking at a DDR machine. The younger boy looks surprised too, if judged by the widening of his eyes.

After the disastrous attempt of befriending him, Otabek has steered clear of Yuri in the barre room, choosing to isolate himself on the opposite corner, their classmates serving as a barrier. His sisters had all urged him to try again, giving possible excuses as to why Yuri had brushed him off coldly, but Otabek had put his foot down.

He turns away when Yuri stops him.

"Do...Do you want to play a game?"

Otabek turns his head back and sees Yuri gesture to the coin slot, the sticker above it claiming that an arcade coin buys them two songs.

"I don't have those coins..." He watches Yuri dig in his jean pockets to procure five of them, the bronze twinkling under the hot lamps.

"Well?" Yuri prompts.

Otabek swallows, and takes a step forward.

 

(They exchange their home numbers and addresses. Yuri is in awe of his battered flip-phone when Otabek pulls it out and punches the information in)

 

Right after he flies back to Almaty, he's packing his bags again for Colorado Springs.

He sheds a few tears after his home-stay parents leaves his room, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling and dark shadows that are his luggages. The homesickness won't last for long, that he knows, but it's still hard.

He tries his hardest to blend in with his classroom walls as twenty-nine pairs of eyes stare at him when he sits down, the collar of his neck hot. The teacher takes some pity on him and gives him a pile of easier subjects, not knowing that Otabek has learned them already.

But still, he does the math exercises and struggles through English and grammar, wishing that the day would be over so he could go to the rink and test out the ice.

His cellphone buzzes in his pocket as Karen— one of the home-stay parents— drives him to the rink.

Unknown: IT'S YURI!  
Unknown: GRAMPS GOT ME A PHONE!!

"Good news?" Karen asks as she pulls out of the school parking lot.

Otabek turns to her with a smile, "The best," He says in English. She beams at him.

"That's great!"

 

"—finally got my on-ice schedule bumped up, I can see Victor skate before me now!" Yuri babbles in his right ear. "He's amazing! You wouldn't believe what I saw, he was practicing quad flip combos today!"

Otabek grew up watching Victor skate too. He remembers being five, his siblings around him as they huddle in front of the television, watching Victor gracefully dance across the screen, "Really?"

"Yea! It was so cool, I wish you could see it!" A sound like someone is chewing, "Do you think your coach would let you come if Yakov hosts a mini winter camp after the Russian Nationals? We can practice together, I'll introduce you to Grandpa."

Ah.

"Actually, I'm in the States right now..."

"WHAT," There's a furious meow on Yuri's end and a bang. "What do you ya mean you're in the States? Are you there for vacation??"

"I'm training in Colorado this year."

"You never _told_ me!" Yuri accuses him.

Otabek winces and pulls the ear buds from his ear, "Sorry, it was decided when I flew back."

"Oh, can't be helped then," Yuri replies sullenly, "Who's your rink mates?"

"There's a boy who's a year older than me, Leo, do you recognize his name?"

"...Not really."

Among many things he has learned about Yuri in the past month that they've been texting and calling each other, he finds that Yuri focuses too much on looking forward instead of looking back. He's pretty sure that if they meet in the future when they're in the Senior Circuit, Yuri wouldn't remember him unless Otabek pointed it out that they met at Yakov's camp.

"De la Iglesias?"

Baffled, Yuri asks, "What?"

"Never mind. He's friends with Guang Hong."

"Who's that?"

"He's the same age as Minami from Japan."

"Who's Minami?"

"Do you even know who your competitors are?"

The answer comes quickly, "Yeah, myself."

Otabek snorts.

"What are you laughing about? I have to beat myself to be on the same ice as Victor one day."

"Skating on the same ice as Victor..." Otabek mulls it over as he looks up from his geometry questions, "Do you think it's possible? He's a lot older than us."

"You think he's going to retire soon? As if! He's only 22!"

He gives a non-committal hum, "I'd like to skate on the ice with him, but we'll see," Of course it would be amazing to skate alongside him, but a skater's prime is very short. This is something he's fully aware of, of course, especially for someone like him.

"I'll definitely beat him one day," Yuri promises. "Now! Tell me more about America! Actually no, are you good at math? I need help."

 

Yuri limps up to him, a grimace on his face as he utilizes his crutches like a weapon to shoo others away.

"Congratz on the silver."

It hangs from Otabek's neck with a nice weight, "Thanks," He says quietly, "Is your foot okay?"

"Sprained it," Yuri sulks. "Good thing the season's over. I'd miss the Russian Nationals if this happened at the Grand Prix Finals."

Something had caused Yuri to lose his balance, landing awkwardly out of a toe loop as his body follows. Otabek had jumped to his feet, Leo beside him as they stare at the screens, watching Yuri struggle to move before gritting his teeth and falling. The music had continued playing above their heads before being cut off.

"You'll be okay for next season."

"I know I will."

Since Otabek wants to be good at the friendship thing, he passes Yuri an address scrawled on a piece of post it note.

Yuri's eyebrows rises, "You're moving again?"

"Yea."

"Oh," For some reason, Otabek's heart flutters when Yuri's face falls a little. "What's this down here?"

"...My Instagram handle."

Yuri gapes before launching for a hug. Otabek yells and grasps the boy's skinny waist, trying to find a hold within the slippery beading and fabric as Yuri cheers, making several eyes turn towards them, "Finally!"

Otabek peers at his friend, "Is it really that important that I have an account?"

"Super important! Now I can send you videos directly and tag you in pictures! Hey! Let's take one for commemoration!" Yuri whips out his phone out of nowhere. And while he's still being hold up by Otabek, he presses the phone to selfie mode.

"Cheese!"

Otabek gives a peace sign to the camera without schooling his picture into a smile. Yuri wiggles in his hold when he tries to set him to his foot.

"Don't let me go yet!"

"Why?"

"I wanna take more pictures!"

"I've reached my max quota of pictures," He states, walking over to the side and setting Yuri down on the chair before going back to get his crutches. He clunks his way back, guards clacking against the stadium floor mats. "I thought my sight would be never come back."

"Okay, keep on rubbing it in my face, Mr. I-Got-Silver."

"I will, thanks," He dodges quick enough to avoid Yuri's deadly jabs. 

"I'll get my revenge on you, Altin!"

Otabek laughs.

 

(Yuri wins gold next year, and Otabek can only smile at him as he waves from the stands, finishing in fourth place)

(He's happy for Yuri though)

 

On his 16th birthday, Alain and Nathalie Leroy bring him to the local license office.

JJ pats him on the back when he comes home with a motorcycle license, running off to tell his other siblings before they're hit to do their afternoon on-ice session. 

He takes a picture of the M1 and his new helmet (a gift from his family) and posts it on Instagram. He forwards it to Yuri as well.

When he gets home, Yuri hasn't replied. Odd.

"You're flubbing your quads," JJ says the next day they take a water break, leaning against the boards as Alain yells at some poor student. Otabek nods glumly as he wipes the sweat off his forehead with a towel, squirting some water into his mouth afterwards. "Is something on your mind?"

"A friend of mine hasn't answered my messages. He usually responds quickly."

"Ah, maybe they're busy?"

"Maybe," He's sure Yuri ran practice late yesterday and came home after dark, but still. It's making him unsettled.

"Come on," JJ beckons to the ice, "I'll walk you through the quad toe again."

Otabek nods and wipes the sweat from his forehead, "Yeah, thanks."

 

After three days of no reply, Otabek is having kittens. He's deep cleaned his room five times already and had fallen so many times on the ice that he might as well become one with it.

From the sidelines, Alain and Nathalie sigh.

Then, he receives a late birthday card from Coach Denis, along with new soakers. They're blue and yellow, the color of Kazakhstan.

Guilt seeps into him again.

He plugs his ear buds in and calls Yuri, pushing aside his pre-calculus homework.

On the fifth ring, Yuri picks up, "Hello?"

"Did something happen?" Otabek asks, extremely relieved. "Is your Grandpa okay?"

"He's fine."

"You didn't pick up my calls or messages," Otabek pokes at the worn teddy bear sitting on his table, leaning back on his chair and pressing his toes to the cold floor. "I was worried that something happened."

The answer comes abrupt and cold, and it was like they were meeting each other for the first time again, "I'm fine, nothing happened."

"...Did I do something, Yuri?"

"No."

"Was it a bad day at practice?"

" _No! Everything is fine! Just leave me alone!"_

Otabek sits there, frozen as the dial tone hits his ears. Then, he goes on twitter and scrolls through Yuri's post, trying to find out if there's anything out of the ordinary.

After twitter and IG, he puts his phone back on his desk and goes down to grab a glass of chocolate milk, the Leroy's large St. Bernard, Boof, following him with adoration.

As he gives Boof a few absent pats behind his ears, JJ walks into the kitchen and unearths two large bowls and three packets of microwaveable popcorn.

"Hey! We're watching the Leafs play, do you want to come and join?"

"Sure."

Once the Leroys have draped the afghan over everyone equally, Otabek gets to hold one of the bowls and as JJ's leg pressed along his. Alain is muttering commentary throughout, occasionally hushed by JJ's younger siblings, Mathéo and Penelope. 

He lets himself watch the players run after a small puck, wincing alongside the family when a particular brutal fight starts and whenever the player gets smashed to the sides.

When the game ends and nearly all of the popcorn is gone, Nathalie decides to make hot chocolate as Penelope stumbles across a documentary on whales. Otabek, surrounded by body heat on all sides of him and a very warm Boof sleeping on his feet, doesn't feel inclined to get to his feet to finish his homework.

"Feeling better?" JJ quietly asks.

Otabek nods, "Yeah, thanks," JJ may be self-centered and vain but Otabek can't deny his loyalty.

"That's good! Did everything work out?"

"No, not really," He mumbles, looking up and thanking Nathalie when she comes by with the first round of hot chocolates. There's no whipped cream on his or JJ's since their first competitions are coming up. "Something's up but I don't know what."

"How old is your friend?"

"He's thirteen, why?"

JJ laughs, "Oh, then it's easy. You're already sixteen. Maybe he thinks that you're already going to the senior circuit while he's stuck in juniors."

Otabek blinks.

"...That actually makes sense," It could be unlikely, but JJ has a point. Yuri _is_ younger than him, and had admitted quite some time ago that he doesn't get along with skaters who are his age because of the difference in their skills. Aside from Otabek, the only other person Yuri tags in his IG posts is Mila. "Huh, thanks, JJ."

JJ smiles and burrows in their shared blanket, pleased.

 

Otabek gets a first row seat to Yuri's comically traumatized expression when he skates out for the five minute warm up in Skate Canada.

Yuri runs towards him when he gets off, eyes wide. His hair falls around his ears, almost choppy, "You're here?"

Otabek leans close, seeing Yuri's ears go pink from embarrassment as he gently flicks his forehead, "Yes, you would have known if you paid attention to the assignments. You could have asked, you know."

"Sorry," Yuri mumbles.

Otabek pats his head gently, looking around to make sure no Yuri's Angels are snooping around to get a picture. When he spots one, he shifts sideways so Yuri's red ears would be hidden.

"Do you know when you're going to move up?"

Otabek considers it.

"I'll move up before I go back home."

"To Almaty?"

He nods, "I'm not going home without a medal though. I want to hit podium on my first try, so I'll take my time and prepare. I owe them that, at least."

"Wow aren't you cool," Yuri drawls. "You'd be an internet sensation if your fans caught word of that."

"I'm a nobody here," Otabek teases, keeping his tone light. He's forced to come to terms that only he and Guang Hong are the oldest in the junior circuit. JJ, Leo, Emil and Mila have stepped up to the senior world.

And they're doing remarkably well.

  

He ends his season with a bronze at Junior Worlds, solidly standing behind Yuri and Guang Hong as they bow for the cameras and wave to the small crowd attending. 

They extend their stay in Taipei by a day, exploring the city and eating from little holes in the wall. Yuri tells him about how Potya continues to gain weight and of his adventures in the kitchen. Otabek tells him about the charity shows he's going to attend with JJ and Leo, chatting happily as they split several sweet buns between them.

"Cheese!"

Otabek gives a thumbs up and smiles when Yuri immediately uploads the picture onto Instagram. His phone starts vibrating non stop.

Then he gets a foreboding feeling.

"Beka?" Yuri asks as Otabek closes the lid of the sweet buns and shoves Yuri's bubble tea in his hands. "What are you doing?"

"Your fans at ten o'clock, left or right, Yuri?"

Yuri bolts, and Otabek follows him, fangirls on their tails.

 

Otabek groans and picks up the call, holding it away at arms length as Yuri's voice comes booming into his hotel room.

"MATCHING HAIRCUTS? WITH JJ? YOU'RE DEAD TO ME!"

JJ, sitting on his own bed, snickers as he peruses through a brochure of things to do in Vancouver.

Otabek's presence in the social media world is only known as the stoic Kazakh skater who Yuri hangs out with. By the time five minutes have passed, Otabek's rink-mates in Toronto have started posting pictures of him in the background, or ones where he's in the middle of a jump and only a blur could be seen. Last time he checked, there were two memes already being passed around.

"I needed a haircut," That wasn't a lie. He does need one. His family has been insisting on one since the beginning of the year. "It's not exactly the same."

"YOU BOTH HAVE UNDERCUTS!"

"Jealous, Little Fairy?" JJ laughs directly into the phone, dodging Otabek's attempts to shoo him away with his leg. "I have more!"

"DIE!"

"Stop agitating him," Otabek says to JJ, shoving his phone under a pillow to drown out Yuri's choice of swear words.

JJ beams at him, "It's fun."

Otabek sighs.

 

Of all things to do on his 17th birthday, he crashes into another skater— Nam— and lands on the ice. Hard.

There's a pain of something being ripped, and Otabek presses his cheek onto the cold as Alain, Nathalie and Brian skates over, yelling at everyone to clear the ice.

"Otabek?" Brian's head floats above him, "Otabek are you okay?"

He grunts, nodding slowly, "My knee."

"...I think it's sprained," He can hear Alain fuss over Nam, telling him to stay down until he calls the medic. "Lie still okay?"

Otabek nods and turns his head slowly to see Nam with blood all around his mouth and chin. There's a nasty gash on his nose.

_Sorry_ , Nam mouths, or tries to.

Otabek gives him a half-hearted thumbs up.

After the medic confirms that he didn't hit his head, they wrap his right knee and lift him onto a stretcher, placing him gently inside Nathalie's car as Nam walks to Brian's. In the ER, the orthopedic surgeon on-call cuts one leg of his sweatpants open with scissors and sends him to get an MRI. 

Nathalie hands him some hot tea and his phone, "You better call your parents." 

Otabek does as she asks and phones his family, apologizing for the early wake up call. His mother frets over him and he promises to update them as soon as he possibly can.

Then he opens twitter, scrolling through as he waits for his turn. He takes a snap of his knee, red, swelling, and angry looking, and sends it to Yuri.

As he's wheeled back to the waiting room, with seven packs of melting ice on his knee, he smiles warily at Nam getting stitches across his nose by a pretty resident.

Otabek takes a picture of the suturing process and sends it to JJ. Nam poses and Otabek takes another one.

His phone starts buzzing.

"Hi."

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Yuri yells, his voice shooting into his ears like a harpoon. "What happened?!" 

"An accident, the doctor says I'll be fine," He sees Brian and Nathalie sign some papers at the nurse's station and swaps one of the meltier ice packs for one that's not melting as much. He tries to move his knee to a more comfortable position and winces instead.

" _Beka you stupid idiot! What are you going to do about Skate America?!_ "

"Whoops."

"WHOOPS _MY ASS_ YOU!— YOU COLOSSAL!—"

"Gotta go, talk to you later," He ends the call without waiting to hear Yuri say goodbye.

Once discharged, Nathalie drives Otabek home and sets him up in the dining room where he's several steps away from the couch, kitchen and bathroom. She doesn't let Boof in, worried that he might overbalance Otabek and, "—tears god knows what else." She continues to core some apples as a pot of soup bubbles gently in the background.

She leaves for the rink after that, making sure that Otabek has everything he needs within an arm's length.

He talks to his family for an hour, making the mistake of showing his mother his angry knee and causing pools of water to shoot from her eyes. His sisters yell at him after that, and he sighs, becoming subject to Zarina's questions about his torn LCL.

"I'm not a patient!"

"You so are!" His sister brandishes her stethoscope like a flag. "Let me practice!" 

He makes a brief post about his injury on twitter and shuts off his notifications. The Leroys come home soon enough and Alain and Nathalie pull him aside.

Otabek won't participate in the GP series this year. Instead he'll aim for Worlds. It's his best option, and to be honest, Otabek is a little relieved since he has trouble with the spins in his free program.

Before Alain and Nathalie leaves, he says, "Can you sign me up for Seniors instead?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," It's still October. He'll go to physiotherapy until he can put weight back on his knee. He has enough time for Worlds.

It's also, he thinks, time for him to go home.

 

He tags along JJ for the Cup of China and watches the Junior competition on his own, sitting with a cap hiding his face and his bomber jacket zipped up.

Earlier, he'd studied the seniors, watching Victor, Georgi and Seung-gil skate. They'll be his competitors in several month's time, and he needs to prepare himself.

Yuri dashes up to him when he finishes, eyes bright, "I knew it!" He says triumphantly, "I thought I saw you!"

"All the way up there?"

"'Course. Who else gives me a thumbs up every time I step on?" Yuri stops and twists his mouth, frowning at his leg. "I was going to give you a hug..."

Otabek smiles, "Come here then," He shuffles awkwardly and lets one crutch rest on the wall as he draws his dominant arm around Yuri's shoulders. It's not the best hug he's ever given, but Yuri's hair smells amazing and there doesn't seem to be any complaints from him. "Congratulations on the gold today."

"Thanks! Wanna eat?"

"You read my mind," He says, "Wait, Yuri, not too fast!"

Otabek coaxes some good eating spots from Guang Hong and they take a stroll around the city, the night wind nipping at their cheeks as Yuri is content with Otabek's snail speed. 

Yuri turns suspicious when Otabek leads him down a dark alley.

"Are you gonna jump me?"

Otabek gives him a flat look, "Do you think I can jump right now?"

"True."

Otabek scoffs, "Absolutely no trust in me, I see. Here we are," He stops at a random dark door and pushes, watching Yuri's expression turn into delight as he sees the bright interior and families quietly chatting around the round tables.

"Not bad, Altin."

"Thanks, I try my best," They're lead to a small table in the corner and Yuri takes a few selfies of himself, trusting Otabek with what to order.

He's in the middle of matching the characters of the dishes from what Guang Hong had sent him when he hears a camera shutter go off and Yuri cursing.

"No."

"Too late!" Yuri grins, "It's up on IG!"

Otabek huffs good naturedly, "You should eat some bitter melon as payback."

"What's that?"

"Melon that's bitter."

"Wow, tell me more."

Otabek goes along with him, "They're good for you supposedly. The one I'm ordering is cooked with marinated vegetables and firm tofu."

"Mmm...." Yuri puts his chin on one hand, "I'm going to the Senior Circuit next year, come with me."

"I'm ways ahead of you, I'll be debuting at Worlds."

"Really?! Nice!" He then leans in with a smirk, "Oh have you been keeping up with twitter lately?"

Otabek blinks, "No, what happened?"

"They're calling you the 'Hero of Kazakhstan.'"

He ducks his head down, "It's kind of embarrassing."

"It's ways cooler than 'Russian Fairy!'"

"Of course, Ice Tiger of Russia."

"If you weren't injured I'd kick you right now," Yuri scowls, holding his chopsticks menacingly. Otabek wants to lean over and ruffle his hair. 

"A thousand and ten apologies to you, Your Highness."

Yuri laughs as the waiter starts doling out the dishes, "Where did that come from?"

"JJ was watching Korean dramas for some reason. I watched some with him when we're home," Otabek scoops some rice cakes covered in XO sauce onto Yuri's bowl. "Try that, it's good."

They sample some braised pork in wine, various vegetables cooked in black bean sauce, and split a mango cake between them for dessert.

"Cheese!"

Otabek holds the cake up so it's covering half his face. Yuri shoots him an unimpressed look but uploads the picture quickly and puts his phone away.

"Do you want to visit before you go back to Almaty? Grandpa's been bugging me about you visiting." 

Otabek turns to him with an apologetic look as they stand next to a park with a small lake, "I don't think I can. I haven't seen my family in five years and I have to do a lot of work as a public figure with Coach Denis before we start skating."

Yuri kicks a stone, watching it bounce into a lake with a soft _plop,_ "Oh, that's okay."

"Sorry."

"It's fine, I'll see you at Worlds then."

"Of course," Otabek nods. They say their goodbyes at the park and go their separate ways. 

When he's lying on the floor, taking a break from doing the recommended stretches his physiotherapist told him about, he scrolls leisurely through IG.

He double-taps Yuri's picture of him holding the cake up, his eyes covered. He can see a trace of a smile in the picture.

He wakes up in the middle of the night, JJ snoring loudly beside him, cursing, " _Shit_."

 

When they get back to Toronto, Boof is sleeping on his chest as one hundred and sixty pounds of dog and adoration crushes his lungs.

JJ finds him there, fifteen minutes later, "Jesus! Are you okay?!"

Instead, he turns to JJ, "So when did you realize you like someone?" Otabek might not be the smartest when it comes to linear calculus, but he's not blind. He's seen how JJ's eyes wanders to Seung-gil, and how he's more obnoxious and flighty whenever they're reviewing the skaters in slow motion during practice.

Except the universe must be laughing at him since he was blind to his own feelings towards a certain skater.

JJ gasps and heaves Boof off Otabek, grabbing his hand and dragging him out to the backyard where snow is falling gently.

"Is it Plisetsky?"

"Is it Seung-gil Lee?" Otabek counters.

"It's gotta be Little Fairy! He liked my picture of you deadlifting."

"What?" He's momentarily side-tracked, "What picture?" He looms closer to JJ, "Did you take another one of me without my knowledge?"

"You looked good! Your muscles were _poppin'!_ "

" _JJ!_ "

"Your arms have their own tag on Instagram. As well as your chest. And maybe your butt, too."

He blanches, "I don't need to know any more details."

JJ laughs uproariously, shaking the snowflakes that have settled in his hair, "Yuri liked them— Are you blushing?"

"NO!"

"You are!" JJ gleefully says, whipping his phone out as Otabek covers his face with a hand. "HEY! HEY! NO SNOWBALLS! I'm watching you, Beks!"

"No pictures!" Otabek sees Boof peek out the door, "Quick, Boof, tackle him!"

When he posts the picture of JJ with his enthusiastic dog licking his face, half buried in the snow, Seung-gil is the first one to like it.

Later, when JJ sneaks into his room and scares the living daylights out of Otabek by singing his latest song into his ear, Otabek helps JJ spread a sleeping bag on the floor, an impromptu sleep over taking place. 

"You still look worried," JJ says from somewhere below him. They're both looking at the glow in the dark stars that Nathalie stuck on the ceiling when Otabek first came. Ursa Major shines a soft green.

"People would think it's weird, a seventeen year old liking a fourteen year old."

"...I always thought both of you were a little similar to be honest, if anyone were to date Plisetsky, seeing that you two are really good friends, I would assume it would eventually be you," There's a rustle and JJ props himself up on his elbows, "I get it though, the public would think it's weird but among the skaters, I don't think anyone would have a problem."

"But I do, I'm the older one, I need to guide him."

JJ pats his mattress, "Whatever you decide to do, I support it. The Leroys have your back."

Otabek closes his eyes and smiles, "Thanks."

"No problem," JJ eases himself back down on his pillow. "Rest up, we have an early morning rehearsal for Theme of King JJ!"

He snorts and throws one of his pillows down.

 

"It's such a nice costume," Nathalie runs a lint roller on his shoulders and smooths his hair for the nth time. "Such a shame you're only wearing it once, dear."

Otabek rolls his shoulders and nods, "I suppose so," He would roll of the sleeves of his white shirt but he'd have to lie victim to Nathalie's mothering, and his warm up group is going to be called on the ice soon anyway.

"Best of luck, you'll do us proud with whatever you have," Nathalie squeezes his hand as the speakers start calling for skaters in the third warm up group to take the ice.

He gives a small smile and hands her his skate guards, taking the first step and breathing in, the cold air crisp and whistling down like an old friend.

He catches Seung-gil's eyes and they give each other a nod.

Backstage, he and every other skater glue their eyes to the screen as Victor skates off the ice, holding several individual roses and hugging a large poodle stuffie to his chest as he sits next to Yakov, twisting his head this way and that way.

The scores are presented, and he hears the stadium cheer.

And then, Leo and Guang Hong are hugging him, hoarsely screaming their congratulations as Emil claps excitedly.

With a daze, he takes the podium and shakes the hand of the ISU president, lowering his neck for the medal and taking the flowers. He can't see horde of cameramen snapping pictures with their flashes on but feels Victor's reassuring arm around his shoulder.

"Just keep on smiling," Victor says somewhere above his ear, shooting a pearly grin towards them, "It'll die down soon."

"I hope you'll find them soon."

Victor gives him a quizzical look and he elaborates, "You keep looking around for someone. I hope you find them soon."

Victor taps a finger to his lip and smiles, "Yes, I hope so too," He absently swats Chris's wandering hands away and winks to Otabek, "Watch out at two o'clock."

"Huh?"

" _Beka!_ "

Victor grabs Chris around the arm and swings him out of the way, Yuri running on the ice in sneakers no less, jumping up for a tackle.

Otabek lands on the ice, feeling a bruise forming on top of a bruise as Yuri raises his head, hands on his chest and the hood falling off his head, "GONGRATZ ON THE BRONZE!"

"Thanks?" He ignores the cameramen taking pictures of their fall and Chris laughing. Otabek sits up and catches Yuri's waist before he falls backwards, eyes still seeing after flashes even when he blinks. "That was quite a leap."

"But you still caught me," Yuri points out, which is true, but not without consequences. Otabek definitely needs a massage after everything is over. 

He gets up to his feet and offers Yuri a hand, holding him by the elbows as they half walk, half slide towards the guardrails where the senior skaters look amused. Victor is tapping his finger on his chin again, sharing a devious, if not delighted, look with Chris.

"Let's take a picture!" Someone calls out, it might be Phichit.

Yuri hands Victor his phone, preening as he tugs out his gold medal, "Take a picture for me!"

Someone hands Otabek the Kazakhstan flag and he drapes it over one shoulder as Yuri wraps his own Russia flag over one shoulder, grinning at the camera. Otabek swallows when Yuri's fingers flit to his waist, the touch making him stand straighter. To hide his eminent embarrassment, he raises his arm so he can coolly drape it over Yuri's shoulders.

"Cheese!"

 

His friends greet him with identical shit-eating grins when Otabek meets them outside the airport, dragging two large suitcases.

"What?" He warily asks Arman, not trusting to take a step further when his friend of ten years is beaming like he's the sun himself. Temir and Kir only snickers, shaking their heads as they each take a luggage and start to load it in the trunk of Arman's beat up Toyota.

Arman, the little shit, dramatically sniffs, "You came home with a boyfriend!"

"That's news to me," He mumbles, rolling his eyes as he hugs Arman and gets a pat or two on his head. When Temir laughs about how tall he is, Otabek digs his elbow into his stomach.

"Yuri Plisetsky!~" Kir sings awfully as they all pile into the car, Arman taking the driver's seat. Everyone cringes, Otabek more so since Kir cannot hold a tune to save his life. "The only picture where you smile is the one with him at Worlds! Your sisters are excited."

"What lies have you been feeding them?"

"Lies? I am so _choked_ ," Arman snorts, "You disappear for five years with no visits and come back like this. I was the one who introduced you to music! Your SoundCloud wouldn't be popular without me! What have they done to you in Canada? You look so small, Beka, I'm going to fight your home-stay family."

Otabek rolls the windows down, poking his head slightly out, welcoming the familiar views. He smiles to himself, listening to the mix of Kazakh, Russian and English as Temir and Kir talk in the backseat, "I'm still growing."

"Whatever makes you sleep better at night," Arman promises sweetly, sticking his tongue out when Otabek realizes he can't do anything to the driver unless he wants to be the perpetrator to a motor vehicle accident on the highway. Temir asks if Otabek brought souvenirs home, and they dissolve into familiar talk, making fun of Otabek's height as Otabek himself practices deep breathing exercises.

When he comes home after saying goodbye to his friends and promising to meet them tomorrow for brunch, he walks into his living room to see Zarina fanning herself with a handful of cash and Elina and Madina sourly looking at him.

"My dear brother!" Zarina sings, bounding across the room to give him a hug. He returns it, breathing in her perfume and resisting the urge to pull back when she pats his cheeks fondly. "Welcome home!"

"Welcome home," Madina and Elina choruses.

"Thanks," He leaves the luggages to the side and sinks in the love seat, "Why are you all so glum?"

Zarina turns to him, beaming like Arman, "Because I won the bet!"

Otabek already misses the calmness of Canada. At least there he had peace and quiet, "What bet?"

"I bet that you'd finally smile in a picture with Yuri after Worlds," Zarina says, like this is common knowledge, which it isn't. Either Zarina is pulling his leg or— "You never told us you got a boyfriend!"

"That's news to me," He deadpans, "Where'd you hear that from?"

"Instagram."

"Instagram is not a reliable source, you should know that," He wants to point out how all three of them are in post-secondary studies— Zarina is well on her way to becoming a surgeon, Madina has started her hospital rotations and Elina is starting her second year in her pre-med program. They _should_ know better. Why is he always the adult around them?

Elina reappears by his elbow and hands him a cold glass of tea and a bowl of strawberries. He drains half the glass, "Speaking of, Victor Nikiforov seems to have disappeared."

"Rumors," Otabek waves his fork. There's always a bunch of them during off-season, "Or gossip. Don't fall for it."

Elina doesn't look convinced, but then his parents arrive home from work and sweep him into a hug, his mother sniffling at how skinny he is. 

 

Yuri laughs over Skype when Otabek tells him he was nearly mobbed when he came out of the rink on his first official day back. Usually, the Skype calls would pass without incidents, Otabek mostly focusing on whatever homework he has and Yuri lounging on his bed. There usually would be chewing on Yuri's end most of the time.

"Oh, so Victor disappeared."

Otabek forgets about the feeling of eels having a party in his stomach now that he realized he has Feelings, "What?"

"Yea, Yakov's been screaming about him all day long, surprised you haven't heard."

"One of my sisters told me, but I didn't think it was true...." Then, "Are you going to follow him?"

Yuri sounds ruffled, " _What?_ Of course not! If he went to answer a booty call he's worth less than the gum stuck to my shoe!"

"Mhm," Because Otabek definitely wasn't listening when Yuri went on about how he wants Victor to choreograph a program for him one day. "You're not jealous are you?"

"I'm disowning you."

"I definitely recall you admiring Yuuri Katsuki's skating."

"Shut up!"

 

Yuri: bekaaaaaa  
Yuri: stop ignoring me you ass  
Yuri: it's been three days!  
Yuri: asshole! it's been a week!  
Yuri: BEKA  
Yuri: r u mad i didn't tell you about japan  
Me: It's very irresponsible of you, Yuri.  
Yuri: o god you're writing in perfect grammar  
Yuri: im 15!  
Me: Your grandfather called me in the middle of the night, thinking that you took a plane to Almaty. Imagine what his voice sounded like when I had to tell him that I had no idea what he was talking about and that you definitely weren't at the airport.

 

He is, to say the least, irritated. 

Coach Denis skates up to him, bending down as he continues to lie down with his cheeks pressed on the ice, "Maybe we should call it a day. Your quad salchow isn't getting any better."

Otabek likes honesty, but he can't pretend that remark didn't dig a thorn at his pride, "Alright," He brushes off the ice on his pants and starts unlacing his skates. He's deciding whether he wants to listen to Verdi's Dies Irae or blast an angry rock music during his cool down stretches when he hears a brief scuffle to the door of Rink 2 and sees his friends trying to wave at him.

He shoots a look at Denis, making sure he's occupied, before running in his socks to them, "What are you doing?—"

"Have you seen this?" Temir shouts, brandishing his phone. He's shivering, dressed only in shorts and t-shirts like Arman and Kir.

Otabek holds his wrist steady and squints at the tiny lettering on the bottom, tossing a sweater at the group and ignoring Arman as he fights with Kir over who gets to be warm, "'Onsen on Ice'... Is that... _Yuri?_ " That's definitely Yuri, he can't mistake that blond head anywhere— but is that _Victor's old costume?_

"What is he doing wearing Victor's old costume?"

Otabek flinches as Coach Denis sneaks up behind them, "Coach!"

"That's me," Denis pulls out his reading glasses, raising an eyebrow, "So this is it, I see. Nikiforov's been promoting this event for a while now. Didn't expect him to be in Hasetsu," Then, he mumbles quietly to himself, "Didn't think Plisetsky would be there, too."

Otabek stares at his coach, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Coach Denis shakes his head furiously, "Nothing, nothing. Go do your stretches, your friends are welcome to join you, but—" He turns to his friends, "—only this once, okay?"

His friends chirp their agreements and tag along to the gym with him afterwards.

 

Elina is hovering at his doorway when Otabek peels his eyes open, "Your boyfriend's downstairs."

"I told you," He grumbles to his pillow, hoping that it could keep him unconscious for at least another hour. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Sure, but Yuri's still downstairs. Breakfast's in the pan, help yourself, I have to go to my seminars and everyone's out of the house today," Elina leaves with a click of her shoes, and Otabek lets slumber pull him back into darkness before his slow brain plays catch up and he takes the steps two at a time, sweat sticking to the back of his neck as Yuri looks up from his couch, phone in hand.

" _Yuri?_ "

Yuri's face turns red, "Wear a shirt!"

Otabek ducks, swatting two pillows aimed his way as he retreats and runs back upstairs, pulling a muscle tee from his hanger and wrestling his head through the neck hole, "What are you doing here?" He asks Yuri when he's more presentable, aware of the purple and blue on his bare feet as Yuri looks up and down at him.

"Your hair is a mess."

"It's sentient," He explains. "I can't control it," Yuri watches him fuss in the kitchen, bringing two plates and some utensils to the living room.

As they work on eggs and tea, Otabek lets his eyes wander.

Yuri looks defeated and it doesn't look good on him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"I don't have my phone with me right now," Otabek states, sipping his tea and watching Yuri choke.

"No wonder you didn't answer! I had to sit outside your doorstep for ten minutes! I gave your mom a heart attack!"

He snorts, "Don't say that, everyone in the family are doctors," Except him, he's the black horse.

"I should have known your phone was dead," Yuri grumbles, swiping his bangs out of his eyes with more force than necessary. A lock falls back into his eyes and he looks an inch away from clawing it off his face when Otabek offers him a bobby pin.

"I have sisters," He explains, and it suffices since Yuri nods and pins his bangs back, swallowing more eggs before sitting back on the couch. Otabek looks at the front door and sees a small carry on and a backpack slouching on the floor next to it. He turns on the TV and listens to the morning news, waiting. 

Eventually, Yuri starts talking.

"I'm going back to Yakov."

He turns his attention to Yuri, who's looking down at his hands.

"I see."

Yuri is then glaring at him, "I'm going to beat that pig. And you as well, I'm not going easy."

"I didn't expect you to," He offers calmly.

"Good!" Yuri barks, standing up. "Let's go sight-seeing! My flight leaves after dinner!"

 

" _So_ ," Temir smiles like a cat who caught the canary, as they all stroll past a park, Otabek looking skyward and wishing that the gods have spared him. _Of course_ the moment he and Yuri came out of his house was interrupted when his friends were walking past the front gate. And _of course_ Temir enjoys gently tormenting him with twitchy winks and badly placed thumbs up behind Yuri's back. "You're Beka's friend?"

Yuri stops licking his grape popsicle, "Uh, I guess?" He shoots Otabek a concerned look.

Arman slings an arm on his shoulder, and Otabek wishes he was taller than everyone else. His shoulder is _not_ an arm rest, "Visiting? I guess you wouldn't have time to see each other once the season starts."

"Yea, my grandpa has been dying to see Otabek but," Yuri gives a little grin, and a _what-can-you-do_ shrug, "I guess being the most famous skater in town means he's busy."

Otabek tunes them out, choosing to lead them around the park and its many fountains as several young couples stroll around with their children racing ahead. His pocket buzzes with all of his friend's phone, held captive so they wouldn't post anything on social media to alert the general public. He doesn't want to get mobbed again.

He forces his friends to treat Yuri nicely while he goes to his only on-ice session of the day, continuing to hold their phones as hostages. Otabek lands several quad salchows in succession and looks to the side where he can see Yuri and his friends waving. Coach Denis balks at his unexpected guests but lets him off early with a knowing smile.

Yuri holds onto his waist tightly after sitting on an early dinner with his family, zooming along the highway as Otabek riskily ties his carry-on to his motorcycle with lots of straps. He waits with Yuri outside security, sitting next to each other with their hoods pulled over since Yuri's Angels are on the lookout, laughing over cat memes.

He hugs Yuri when he has to leave, releasing quickly and shooing him gently to the gate with a smile.

"Thanks!" Yuri yells across the gate, waving.

"Anytime," He says to himself, staying there for a couple more seconds before turning and leaving, two helmets in his arms.

 

"Aw," Zarina coos over him as he twists his back here and there at the mirror, "You look like a prince."

His free program costume does resemble something a prince would wear, "Hm," He tugs at the cravat, wondering if a tie would look better.

"Keep the cravat," His mother pokes her head into his room, handing him a cup of tea and giving Zarina a plate of cookies, "You look handsome, _botam_."

He smiles at her, allowing himself to a few pictures as she delightfully takes out her phone.

 

Yuri: nice costume  
Me: what  
Yuri: Temir sent a picture to me lmao look at the hashtags on IG  
Me: he's getting disowned

 

Yuri: AAAAAAAAAAA  
Me: ?  
Yuri: DID YOU WATCH THE LIVE BROADCAST?  
Me: no  
Yuri: THEY FUCKING KISSED. PIGGY AND VICTOR  
Me: good for them  
Yuri: EWWWWW

 

JJ: HE'S SKATING A MAMBO?  
JJ: this is not good for my heart  
JJ: BEKA! I'M HAVING A CRISIS HERE  
Me: i was skating  
JJ: MAMBO. M A M B O.  
Me: yes, mambo.  
Me: just so you're aware, Seung-gil was mentally calculating his scores when he walked off the ice  
JJ: talented AND smart, im swooning  
Me: im screen-shotting that  
JJ: dON'T YOU DARE

 

Temir: lololol they're calling you the dark horse  
Kir: huzzah for qualifying!  
Me: ty  
Arman: your boy yuri didn't look too happy getting silver at skate canada  
Me: it's JJ, they don't like each other  
Temir: the bf knows best  
Me: you're disowned  
Temir: :'(((

 

He's looking over helmets at the bike rental shop when his twitter buzzes and he sighs.

"I told you to wait for me before running off," He yells over the wind as they escape a horde of Yuri's Angels. Otabek weaves between the alleyways before making it out onto the main road, revving the engine to cut off Yuri's spluttering excuses.

He spots Yuuri and Victor walking hand in hand several blocks ahead of them and takes a sudden corner, Yuri screeching in his ears as his waist is crushed, "Asshole!"

"Sorry."

They stumble off the bike, Yuri shooting him a dirty look as they enter a cafe. Otabek refuses to take off his sunglasses until he's seated, suspicious of the group of girls at the corner giggling as Yuri peruses through the menu and decides on green tea and a chicken club sandwich.

"Hot chocolate and a croissant for me," He tells the waiter, who smiles at them and takes the menus. The cafe is cozy looking, the interior made of dark wood and golden lamps illuminating them.

"I didn't realize you have a sweet tooth," Yuri points out, shaking off his hood and checking his phone. By the gleeful curl of his lips, they must have made headlines on the gossip sites. "Does Coach Denis approve?"

"What he won't know won't hurt him."

Yuri snorts, "You're such a little shit."

"I learn from the best," He smirks, laughing when Yuri kicks his skins beneath the table. They catch up on several months' worth of missed conversations, refilling their cups three times before the skies turn dark and Otabek nearly falls out of his chair when he sees two women plastering their nose to the glass.

"Oh no," Yuri groans.

Otabek suppresses a smile as they walk back to the hotel, Yuri frothing at the mouth when Chris exposed The Pictures.

"Don't even say it," He threatens, stomping to his room as Otabek swipes his room key and pushes the door open.

Otabek smiles at him, "Nice moves," And leaps out of the way when Yuri aims a particularly nasty high kick meant for his nose. "Seems like all of those DDR dances paid off."

"You're the worst!" Yuri declares, leaning back and slumping on Otabek's bed, "Ugh my dignity is ruined! Tell me something interesting."

"I like you," Otabek accidentally says in the too quiet room, the brain to mouth filter failing after spending an entire day with Yuri.

Yuri sits up, swiping his bangs to the side as he stares at Otabek, mouth open.

His own mouth is open as Yuri croaks, "What?"

" _Um,_ " He says, closing his eyes and grimacing, "...I like you?"

"Since when?"

It's a lot easier to talk with his eyes closed and he already regrets blabbing the news. Yuri's definitely going to draw back. Why couldn't he kept his mouth shut honestly? "After the Cup of China last year, I probably liked you more before that but didn't realize it."

"Ah."

There's a sound of Yuri slipping off the bed and a pair of warm arms circling his waist. He opens his eyes to see Yuri's ears turning red, face pressing into the side of his neck.

"...Same."

"Same," He echoes. "You as well?"

"Fuck Beka," Yuri pulls back, cheeks turning red, "Do you not realize how cool you are? You ride a freaking motorcycle, remix music and play in a club, another thing I find cool. "Your face...is nice. And shit. Really nice, actually. And...and you were my first real friend. You befriended me for the sake of getting to know me, bad personality and rash decision making included."

Otabek looks at him, then tilts his head in warning. Yuri angles his cheeks out and Otabek presses his lip against it, once, twice.

Yuri laughs and does a weird little half-skip in his arms, "I feel funny."

He feels it too, the rush of high like he can do anything. Yuri aims for a clumsy kiss on his jaw and breaks off laughing, collapsing on the bed and rolling over to hide the massive grin into the sheets.

Otabek joins him, sitting down and letting Yuri squirm to his lap, running a hand through his hair.

"Go on a date with me."

"Right now?" He teases.

Yuri grins, eyes still closed, "No, competition's tomorrow. Let's do something before the gala."

Otabek agrees and sends Yuri off to his room, both of them hovering at the door for five minutes exchanging shy smiles and one too many goodnight pecks before he hears Yakov's tell tale voice and books it, kissing Yuri's head and running off to the elevators.

 

He accidentally bites Yuri's finger, watching the blond flinch as Otabek spits out the glove and waves his arms uselessly, "Sorry!"

Yuri's eyes are watering, "I'm good."

"Why don't we do something else?" Something not as risky as Otabek potentially chewing off Yuri's finger. This is the fifth time this happened, and he looks guiltily at the teeth marks on Yuri's pale skin. Over at the other end of the rink, JJ is attempting to flirt with Seung-gil by showing him pictures of Boof. Otabek would take pictures for blackmail if it weren't for Yuri getting a bolt of inspiration yesterday night.

Yuri pulls his hand back, "It's fine! It's fine! We nearly got it this time!"

Otabek sulks, "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm not a baby, I can take it," Yuri insists, skating close to Otabek with his practice shirt soaked in sweat. His eyes are burning intensely, "We're going to one-up the Katsudon and Victor."

"Have you decided what to wear at least?" He asks, going to the little external stereo sitting on the guardrails and rewinding the song back from the beginning. He keeps his hand to himself, ripping his eyes away from the little curl of hair that's escaping Yuri's short ponytail.

Yuri cackles, setting the tone for the rest of the rehearsal.

"Your grandfather is going to keel over and have an aneurysm," Otabek all but croaks when Yuri runs up to him backstage before the gala starts. He's only been told to wear all black and a leather jacket, but he continues to look over Yuri's leather ( _leather!_ ) pants and holey tank top. " _I'm_ going to keel over and get an aneurysm."

"What's a little leather going to hurt?" Yuri says cheerfully like the devil he is, dragging him to the dressing room and shoving Mila's make up kit at him. Otabek looks at the different products before praying that his sisters are guiding him from where they are, washing his hands and squirting some eye primer on his fingertips. 

He should have never introduced Yuri to rock, he decides.

"Go wild," Is Yuri's only request and Otabek swipes his entire eyelid with glittery black eyeshadow. 

 

Once everything is over and they've all taken their last bows and waved to the audience, they huddle for a group picture in front of the eager photographers and some die hard fans stretching their arms out. Someone tosses Phichit his selfie stick again so they make silly poses as the ground crew starts to clean up, dismantling the kiss-and-cry. 

Otabek suddenly becomes the center of attention, many of the skaters in ladies singles coming up to him with their phones.

"Otabek!" A voice calls out.

He turns and excuses himself, skating over to the middle of the rink where Yuri, Victor and Yuuri are talking in a loose circle, Phichit and Chris exchanging pictures through Airdrop beside them.

Yuri looks disgruntled, Victor greets him with a wink.

Yuuri saves the day by sweetly offering him an invitation to his family's onsen, "—It'll be after Worlds of course, since Victor needs to go back to St. Petersburg and catch up for Russian Nationals. What do you think? Can you make it?"

"I don't see why not," He says, eyes darting to the side where he can see Yuri glare at some girls edging their way towards them. "Thank you for the invitation."

"Oh, it's not a prob!—"

The front of his jacket gets yanked, and then his mouth is firmly covered, Yuri pulling him down as Phichit gasps.

"Back off!" Yuri releases him and turns his attention to the group of ladies. "He's taken!"

Ignoring his flaming face, Victor sidles up to him and wiggles his eyebrows, smirking deviously as Yuuri squeaks and tries to hide his smile with a hand, "Otabek," Victor croons, "You never told us you two are a thing."

"Whoops," He manages to say, ears still hot to the touch.

"Let's talk at the banquet," Yuuri grabs Victor's hand and starts tugging him and Phichit away. It's right there and then that Otabek believes Yuuri is his guardian angel. "See you both!"

Yuri is pointedly not looking at him, mouth set in a way that he knows he's going to be lectured. Otabek releases a sigh, thankful that the ice has mysteriously cleared, and ducks to press a soft kiss to Yuri's mouth, "You're the jealous type, I thought we agreed to take it slow?" Some flecks of mascara is sticking on Yuri's cheeks, so he brushes that off.

"Deal with it," Yuri grumpily replies, but laughs when Otabek starts tickling him, skating backwards and away.

Yuuri and Victor later find them chasing each other on the ice, laughing bouncing across the walls of the large stadium, happy. Victor takes his phone out for a commemorative picture before reminding them about the banquet.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter @yaboyhajime


End file.
